You need to learn to wrench yourself. And get a repair stand plus some good tools. That will probably eliminate all those problems.

 The stem is not threaded where it sits on top of the fork. The fork is threaded and that's what stripped. Hence need new fork. Stem was fine.

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Reading what you wrote: time to find a different shop, not a different brand of bike.

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no sponsors | no races | nothing to see here

Time to find a new LBS, not a new manufacturer. What you describe are symptoms of a sloppy job at the shop, not the manufacturer's fault. Alternatively, you could choose to talk to the LBS about why you're considering leaving them for a new shop and see if anything changes in the future.

I'd also suggest learning to do some of your own basic maintenance. I'd like to be able to say every bike I've ever bought was perfectly assembled, but they haven't. Particularly on high-end TT bikes the assembly can be quite extensive, even for a seasoned bike wrench. Things get missed. I learned my lesson when I was riding a new TT bike and over the course of one of the first rides with it I discovered the seat clamp wasn't torqued to spec. At our rest stop 40 miles in I had to fix it and had to have a bunch of guys wait on me (I didn't find out until right before we were about to ride out again). Next time I went into the LBS I told them what had happened in a "not a big deal, but just wanted to let you know" sort of a way. The bike wrench was apologetic, i said no problem and we moved on. Now whenever I get a new bike or get a bike back from service I give it a quick once-over.

Honestly this all just sounds crazy to me. I have had a SC for 3 years now, fantastic bike. I have had some shops over the yrs do some sub par work on it and when that happens guess what: it does not run as well! Carl is also always on here to answer any questions that come up....... Here is my only complaint about Trek; in Kona you see the vendors that really seem to care about triathlon and Trek as no were to be found, in fact i have never seen Trek at a single race the past 3-4 yrs i have done triathlon. I like to support brands and products that are committed to the sport. Trek has made a fantastic bike that they can carry across to the road bike world as well, must save them lots of production dollars to do this? Would love to see them make a tri specific bike and be present at races. This still does not take away from what a fantastic bike the SC is along as the proper work is done on it.

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

this is where i lost your drift. i've never had a bike with a threaded steerer tube. frankly, never knew such a thing existed. so, how does a (and what kind of) stem attach to this threaded fork ?

A bit tangential, but Trek was one of the first (if not THE first) to design a true TRIATHLON bike built for triathletes and not a "time trial" bike that triathletes simply used (other than QR). They started many of the trends we see today.

http://forallmyfriends.com/...peed-concept-tdf.jpg

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a picture always helps, thanks ! quite a bit more space-age than my abilities have encountered. i've learned to do all my own bike maintenance, including installing forks and many a headset, but my bikes all have steerer tubes to which to bolt a stem.

Yea i did get off track but its the one thing that does bug me about Trek, i am just one small voice. Yes i am aware of what they have done in the past but i always live in the moment of what have you done for me lately. Of course i do argue with myself that they have such a fast bike would anything even be gained by re working a new design? Cervelo spent how much on the PX5 and put how many hours into it and gained what 2w? Yes i know still off track.

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2024: Bevoman, Galveston, Alcatraz, Marble Falls, Santa Cruz

Look crpark or whatever your name is. I don't know who you think you are but you obviously are not the caliber of rider that deserves to put your ass on my saddle. I'm fast as fizzuk, and you probably broke me by tossing me in that back of your '85 Yota pick-em-up truck like a worn out Huffy. I need to be treated with respect and I need to be ridden like a banshee on crack. You obviously can't handle me. Better to just trade me in and get that piece of shiz Crack-n-Fail errr Cannondale Slice you've been eyeing. I heard their weight limit is more in line with the pounds you're pushing anyways.

As for the rest of you keyboard commandos thinking you can sling wrenches - You don't know shit!

While I haven't worked on thousands, I've worked on all my own bikes for 20 years, including my SC9. I too have not used a torque wrench! :)

The SC9 really isnt that hard to work on. I work a lot of hours too, and have two young kids. Just find an evening and set aside a few hours and a few beer, and you'll get the whole thing put together. The things that took me the longest during the initial build were getting the cable housing lengths right, and getting everything fed through the bars.
Since you already have had it built once, you can use the existing housing as a guide as to how long to cut new housing.
And get a cheapo $20 bearing press, like Boca sells I think, for swapping out bottom bracket bearings (assuming yours has press in bearings too), you'll likely need to at least once a year.

Cheers

This has been a strong lesson to me - where are you guys sourcing all of the proprietary bearings? headset and bottom bracket? I wish we could go back to the days of the standard sizes - i would love to throw some King bearings in there.

In all seriousness, screw Trek and their big corporate shit don't stink mentality. Go and get yourself fit by someone that knows what they are doing and have them recommend a few bikes based on your body ergos. hint hint - Adam Baskin at Cat One Fitness in Orlando. Then pick something anti Trek/Cannondale/Specialized as you are a tiny little ant on the earth to them. You don't matter. Besides, it's way cooler being different.

Curious, was there a reason you chose to replace the headset bearings in the first place. Not really interested in a blanket statement such as, "they were worn out". More interested specifically on what negatively was going on because of them.

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see page 7. This should clear everything up.

http://trek.scene7.com/...t_Service_Manual.pdf

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how about this ? blow it out your ass.....

There is a very active Trek Speed Concept thread on this forum. On there is a rep from Trek, user name 'Carl'. He is a great resource for info, provides small part numbers for anything on the speed concept, which you can then have any trek dealer order in for you.

Thomas - I had to order new bearings for my SC headset. Symptoms seemed to be the same as would happen with a typical headset - if I tighten enough to not have play, it is rough or difficult to turn. I've raced in the rain several times over the years with it, and used it for roughly 350 hours on the indoor trainer over the past 3 years, lots of sweat seeping into the bars/headset area...

If the bearings in your headset get notchy you, buy a new headset.

If the bearings in your bottom bracket aren't smooth, buy a new bottom bracket.

They are cheap.

Thomas - The headset had developed a "sticking point" in the bars. They always popped back to "zero" where the bars were straight forward. If I loosened the headset, i felt slop, if i tightened it it would keep the "popping" back to the bars being straight ahead. I'm assuming the bearingset had developed a pit. I sweat a lot, and being positioned directly over the bars, I'm sure the bearings take their fair share of salt spray.

Good to know. Thanks for that.

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Learn to wrench your own bike. In my pre tri dork roadies days we all thought treks were for freds who knew nothing about their bikes, just that they wanted a Trek. Do you run in Nikes too?

To everyone that keeps telling me I need to be wrenching on my own bike - I CAN do this, I've just finally reached a point in my life where I can afford to pay someone to do this on a regular basis. I have chosen the route of supporting my local bike shops.

All too often I hear people tell me things can be found $5 cheaper online for the same item. This is generally true, but I feel it's important to support our LBS's. Good shops provide cycling awareness in the community, promote local events, and provide that much needed "ohh crap I got a flat and I'm out of spare tubes" relief.

You all have helped me realize the main problem I've had with my situation is the local shop and not Trek, but I completely disagree with the comments about needing to do all of my own work. I will continue to have shops perform my work, but will definitely not return to the Trek store in Boca Raton!

Wow that sucks. Add me to the list of people saying this is 99% your shop's fault. That said, I kind of think Trek should pony up for their crap dealer's mistakes (assuming it is a Trek dealer -- if not then that's another story entirely and you should go after the shop directly). Anyway, bottom line is you need a new shop because they'll screw up any bike you buy.